‘Chase that dream,’ Rugby HTX develops rugby talent, potential future SaberCats

By Aaron Wilson

Development and teaching are among the critical hallmarks for all professional sports teams. That’s why Rugby HTX is such an important element of the SaberCats’ overall program.

Established as a high-performance pathway to potentially earning a spot onto the SaberCats’ roster, Rugby HTX, coached and directed by former SaberCats hooker Mike Brown, is run under the same fundamentals and principles of the SaberCats taught by director Heyneke Meyer and coach Pote Human. “We’re excited about what they’re doing,” Human said. “We look forward to seeing more from them in the future. Everything is run the same from top to bottom. They know what the goals are and how we do things.” Rugby HTX is comprised of younger players with an average age of 23. They train at the same facilities as the SaberCats and follow a similar routine.

When Brown retired after playing for Seattle following his time with the SaberCats, they tabbed him as the man for the job as a bridge between skill-building and evaluating talent for the future. All but one of the players is an American. “We want to focus on youth, it’s not about results,” Brown said. “It’s about the future. We want younger guys. We don’t want guys who are just getting in our system at age 24. It’s an acceleration that’s needed around the league. To have access and train and work at the same facility as the SaberCats and see them at practice, it’s good. If guys get injured, they get called up.”

It’s the equivalent of an NFL practice squad. Most of the players have jobs or are in school. “We don’t pay them and a lot of our guys are students,” Brown said. “They’re able to do school or work and train and practice under the lights at night and still be able to go to school and go to work and chase that dream.”
Rugby HTX, which has the same positional coaching and video analysis as the SaberCats, is an invitation team with invitations earned through combines, video footage of recent play and coaches’ recommendations.

There’s a structured strength and conditioning program for the 30-player limit squad, three field sessions per week and competitive matches against top teams, other Major League Rugby team academies and pathway programs.
Rugby HTX played a match against the Dallas Reds, a defending national champion Division I squad, last weekend and was competitive for most of the game before falling short toward the end.

“Our Rugby HTX program is very important to us,” SaberCats team president J.T. Onyett said. “I think it’s really the way to win in this league with our salary cap and our roster limits. You have to take advantage of the academy and have players ready for when injuries happen. Our group is a young group. They’re qualified players, which means they can jump up, whether it’s this year or next year and really make an impact on the SaberCats while we’re growing rugby in America at that level. The coaches can look at them and say, ‘OK, there’s a few guys who might be able to help us this year if we need them. “There’s a chance some of these guys end up somewhere else in Major League Rugby because there are only so many spots on each team. Even if they do wind up playing somewhere else, it’s still helping to grow American rugby. It’s still helping the league. We would love for them to play for us, but things happen and they might end up elsewhere.”

Having Brown teaching Rugby HTX the SaberCats’ Way is pivotal to the development of the players. There’s continuity and knowledge gained and they have the motivation of watching the SaberCats up close and seeing the possibility of playing rugby at the highest North American level. “Mike had retired and we reached out,” Onyett said. “I knew he had coached high school rugby before and could coach it at a higher level because he had really succeeded at the high school level, and I knew he was the right type of guy. “He’s coaching Heyneke and Pote’s program at that level. If a guy does get called up, he’s ready to succeed at the next level. It’s not all new to them.”

*Photos by Nick Romero